Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

CRTC Won't Force Wireless Telecom Companies To Offer Bills On Paper

Darpan News Desk, 03 Mar, 2020 08:06 PM

    OTTAWA - Canada's telecom regulator won't force mobile service providers to offer customers paper invoices, at least not yet.

     

    But the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is opening a consultation to learn more about whether there's a "market failure" that demands the government step in.

     

    Two advocacy groups wanted the CRTC to force Telus-owned Koodo Mobile to reverse its move to electronic billing for all but a select few of its customers.

     

    John Lawford with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which filed a formal complaint to the CRTC alongside the National Pensioners Federation, said Canadians have a right to receive paper bills— at no cost — under changes to the Telecommunications Act passed in 2014.

     

    Koodo argued that, while the law says telecom companies cannot charge a fee for invoicing, they are not compelled to actually provide paper bills.

     

    Since Koodo began switching to electronic bills in early 2015, most other wireless carriers, including Telus, have followed suit. Rogers is planning to do the same as of March 26.

     

    As long as companies clearly spell out their invoicing policies to new customers, the CRTC ruled Tuesday, "the offering of paper bills may operate as a competitive incentive, and that one communications service provider's refusal to cater to such a demand can be another provider's opportunity to gain a customer."

     

    But, says the ruling, the investigation of this particular complaint was narrow.

     

    "The evidence on the record of this proceeding is insufficient for the commission to conclude that the marketplace has failed to meet an economic or social need regarding the provision of paper bills and that commission intervention is warranted, since the evidence related largely to Koodo," it says.

     

    So the CRTC is seeking more information about other providers' practices, and whether there's a need for regulations, especially to protect people who might have trouble paying bills online. It's seeking input on both telecom and broadcasting services. Providers will have a month to file information on their invoicing practices. Further examination of the issues will take until the end of May.

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Missing 23-Yr-Old Rattanjot Sidhu Found Dead: Surrey RCMP

    Rattanjot Sidhu was last seen at 11:30 a.m. on February 8 in the 6600-block of 184th Street in Surrey.  

    Missing 23-Yr-Old Rattanjot Sidhu Found Dead: Surrey RCMP

    Climate Change Could Open New Land To Farming, But Caution Needed: Study

    Climate Change Could Open New Land To Farming, But Caution Needed: Study
    Climate change could open a whole different area in Canada to farming, says newly published research.    

    Climate Change Could Open New Land To Farming, But Caution Needed: Study

    The Latest On Protests Across Canada In Support Of Anti-Pipeline Demonstrators

    Here is the latest news on protests across Canada over a natural-gas pipeline project in British Columbia:    

    The Latest On Protests Across Canada In Support Of Anti-Pipeline Demonstrators

    Names In The Mix: An Updated List Of Potential Conservative Leadership Contenders

    OTTAWA - The Conservative leadership race is underway and the deadline to register as a candidate and meet the first round of requirements is Feb. 27.    

    Names In The Mix: An Updated List Of Potential Conservative Leadership Contenders

    Bar Owner, Manager Given 9 Years For Gang Sexual Assault In Toronto Bar

    A former bar owner and his manager were sentenced on Wednesday to a total of nine years each for the hours-long drugging and sexual assault of a barely conscious woman in 2016.    

    Bar Owner, Manager Given 9 Years For Gang Sexual Assault In Toronto Bar

    Longtime Newspaper Columnist Christie Blatchford Dead At 68

    Longtime newspaper columnist, author and firebrand Christie Blatchford, a hardnosed scribe known for deep-sourced scoops and biting opinion pieces, has died.    

    Longtime Newspaper Columnist Christie Blatchford Dead At 68